Open AccessTowards a CEFR Framework for Workplace Communication: Students’ Perceptions of the Sub-Skills, Use and Importance of Language Productive Skills (LPS)
Author(s) -
Ahmad Mazli Muhammad,
Maisarah Ahmad Kamil,
Zachariah Aidin Druckman
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
pertanika journal of social science and humanities
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.165
H-Index - 12
eISSN - 2231-8534
pISSN - 0128-7702
DOI - 10.47836/pjssh.29.s3.02
Subject(s) - employability , perception , workforce , curriculum , psychology , soft skills , scale (ratio) , pedagogy , medical education , knowledge management , mathematics education , computer science , political science , social psychology , medicine , geography , neuroscience , law , cartography
The ever-changing demands of the workforce due to current trends have led to the need for universities to equip their graduates with the necessary soft skills to increase their employability. As a result, the implementation of CEFR in language curricula was emphasised to address this matter. However, research on how CEFR could be implemented into a university''s workplace communication course is severely lacking. Moreover, there is room to further enhance existing CEFR frameworks for workplace communication. Thus, this preliminary study was conducted to investigate students’ perceptions of the use and importance of language productive skills (LPS) at the workplace towards developing a CEFR framework for workplace communication. The study adopted the quantitative approach through questionnaires to gauge students’ perceptions of the use and importance of LPS at the workplace. A total of 354 students from various faculties under the clusters of science and technology, business and management, and social sciences and humanities participated in the study. The responses were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The study’s findings show that, generally, students’ perceptions regarding the use and importance of speaking skills in the workplace are congruent to the CEFR scale for formal discussions. However, the use and importance of writing skills do not match the current available scale under CEFR to cater to workplace communication. Thus, future research calls for curriculum developers to identify relevant descriptors needed for written workplace communication.